Shloka 99
दक्षिणा चात्र देया वै निष्कपञ्चसुवर्णकम् | वाचकाय यथाशकक्त्या यथोक्तं फलमिच्छता,शास्त्रोक्त फलकी इच्छा रखनेवाले पुरुषको चाहिये कि वह महाभारत-श्रवणके पश्चात् वाचकको यथाशक्ति सोनेके पाँच सिक्के दक्षिणाके रूपमें दान करे
vaiśampāyana uvāca | dakṣiṇā cātra deyā vai niṣkapañcasuvarṇakam | vācakāya yathāśaktyā yathoktaṁ phalam icchatā ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Here, too, a gratuity should certainly be given—five gold niṣkas—as a sacrificial fee. One who desires the stated (scriptural) fruit should, according to his means, give this to the reciter after hearing the Mahābhārata, honoring the transmission of sacred teaching through proper giving.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Sacred learning is to be honored through appropriate giving: after hearing the Mahābhārata, one should offer a dakṣiṇā to the reciter according to one’s means, aligning personal conduct with scriptural prescriptions for merit.
In the concluding instructional context of the Svargārohaṇa section, Vaiśampāyana states a practical rule for listeners: the reciter of the Mahābhārata should be rewarded with a prescribed honorarium—symbolically expressed as five gold niṣkas—so that the listener may obtain the declared fruit of the hearing.